Structuring an inter-sector research partnership: a negotiated zone.

Objectives: To document and analyze the initial steps in building a health research partnership. To enable a greater appreciation of what these processes entail and also to provide guidance in negotiating the inevitable tensions between parties with different aims and objectives.

Methods: This case study is based on participant-observation and document analysis. It employed three general analytic strategies: developing a case description, relying on theoretical propositions and thinking about rival explanations.

Results: The development of a research partnership framework entails a complex negotiation process marked by tensions: one of representing the interests of the various parties; and one establishing the basis for collaboration. Some factors can facilitate these processes: acknowledging the specific interests and organizational culture of the various organizations involved; designating a mediator to develop a climate of trust; and mitigating the inequalities among partners, in a process which requires considerable efforts over a rather long period of time.

Conclusion: The process of structuring the relations among the associated partners does not end with negotiating a partnership accord. Denying this would be tantamount to denying the political nature of a research partnership, and denying those involved any autonomy in future research projects.